concrete front entry refinish

hope this is the right section of the forum!
I've got a concrete pad in front of my front door and it sure is UGLY
any ideas as to how to make it look better? maybe some sort of epoxy or a skim coat of cement? I've tried indoor/outdoor carpet (which is on there now...UGLY!) and will be blasting that stuff away with a power-washer.(bought it at HD...their carpet isn't too good ,at least their I/O...bought some high quality indoor/out about 15 years ago and it's still going strong in back of the house)

concrete front entry refinish

concrete front entry refinish

piece of cake these were worse,,, installing tile's not a good idea as wtr'll eventually enter the grout, freeze, & pop off the tiles,,, back where you started, eh ? ? ? bear in mind we do this for a living BUT you could come close

concrete front entry refinish

of course i do,,, those post'd pics were of jobs that were worse than yours,,, all have been down over 5yrs in freeze-thaw climes,,, properly installed, there's no chance of wtr infiltration as the o'lay mtl bonds molucularly to the properly prepp'd original conc surface,,, here's another.

concrete front entry refinish

well, I got an estimate for "capping" the slab with 2.5 in. of concrete and it's a whole lot more desirable than getting the slab replaced. (less costly) the guy that gave me the estimate says the existing slab is in good shape so pulling it out would be "overkill". my wife isn't all that interested in resurfacing with some sort of design since all the other houses around have a plain concrete slab in front of the front door. more estimates on the way!

concrete front entry refinish

There is a guy on a couple of the Holmes on Homes episodes that does this kind of work. It turns out looking beautiful.

What kind of company do you call to find out about having cement steps finished like that?

There is a company in Canada that sells products in the U.S. for this kind of work. I called them and they sent me a DVD giving exact directions on how to use their coatings. I haven't watched it yet. Here is a link to their website:

concrete front entry refinish

well, Scuba,that's nice,I mean REAL nice. my wife agrees too!
the only question is, can we get it done at a reasonable cost. I don't think the guy who came today could do it. probably end up with a plain slab.

concrete front entry refinish

2 1/2" cap's really much more'n necessary but could be accomplished by either a bond'd OR unbond'd overlay ( cap ),,, none of the pics i post'd were thicker than 1/8",,, even installing a thin-stamp'd overlay's only 3/8" max,,, to my knowledge, daich is a reseller, not a manufacturer,,, google ' elitecrete ' for the largest manufactureing & dedicated distribution network - even in canada.

if you saw the diy tv segment on the back porch/patio o'lay, it was rod johnson & elitecrete along w/the show's 2 reg hosts.